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Thread: Electroplating Brisbane

  1. #1
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    Electroplating Brisbane

    Hi,

    I have a problem that I’m hoping someone here can help resolve.

    Despite watching and rewatching countless YouTube clips of home zinc electroplating and thinking that I’ve diligently followed the right steps I can’t get it to work properly.

    The common theme is create the electrolyte with white vinegar, water and epsom salts plus a couple of hours adding zinc ions via a couple of semi submerged zinc plates attached to a power source. Add a fish tank aerator to keep the electrolyte moving. Then take your thoroughly cleaned steel part and attach it to a negative lead and the zinc plates to a positive lead from the power source submerge the part to be plated and voila - after about 20 minutes the part should be well coated with a layer of dull grey zinc.

    I’ve done all that experimentally several times but even after several hours the zinc coating is usually very patchy and poor - revving up the voltage and current helps a bit but that typically gives a very grainy finish and nothing as neat as the YouTube pros are suggesting should be the result. In fact many (eg. Geoff Croker) use a phone or calculator charger which is only 3 volts and less than 1 amp of current.

    So, it’s clear that I’m doing something wrong each time despite the best of plans. I’m hoping that some kindly home electroplater in Brisbane might read this and help point me in the way to success. I’m trying to get my truck ready for Cooma and have about half a dozen small parts that I want to zinc plate and then apply a yellow passivate.

    Any leads?

    Cheers,

    Neil

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by S3ute View Post
    Hi,

    I have a problem that I’m hoping someone here can help resolve.

    Despite watching and rewatching countless YouTube clips of home zinc electroplating and thinking that I’ve diligently followed the right steps I can’t get it to work properly.

    The common theme is create the electrolyte with white vinegar, water and epsom salts plus a couple of hours adding zinc ions via a couple of semi submerged zinc plates attached to a power source. Add a fish tank aerator to keep the electrolyte moving. Then take your thoroughly cleaned steel part and attach it to a negative lead and the zinc plates to a positive lead from the power source submerge the part to be plated and voila - after about 20 minutes the part should be well coated with a layer of dull grey zinc.

    I’ve done all that experimentally several times but even after several hours the zinc coating is usually very patchy and poor - revving up the voltage and current helps a bit but that typically gives a very grainy finish and nothing as neat as the YouTube pros are suggesting should be the result. In fact many (eg. Geoff Croker) use a phone or calculator charger which is only 3 volts and less than 1 amp of current.

    So, it’s clear that I’m doing something wrong each time despite the best of plans. I’m hoping that some kindly home electroplater in Brisbane might read this and help point me in the way to success. I’m trying to get my truck ready for Cooma and have about half a dozen small parts that I want to zinc plate and then apply a yellow passivate.

    Any leads?

    Cheers,

    Neil
    I cannot help you out at all unfortunately!

    But it sounds like a pretty cool project, hopefully someone in here can help out.

    Either way I'd love to hear the end result.

    Cheers
    James

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by shack View Post
    I cannot help you out at all unfortunately!

    But it sounds like a pretty cool project, hopefully someone in here can help out.

    Either way I'd love to hear the end result.

    Cheers
    James
    James,

    Hi.

    The end result was that I got it done by increasing the size of the zinc sacrificial plates and keeping it running for ages with a variable regime of voltage and current manipulations. It works better on simple things like bolts and nuts - but much less satisfactorily on objects with multiple sides and angles such as the bracket that holds the ignition and choke end.

    However, that still doesn’t explain how the YouTube advocates get a part fully coated in about 20 minutes.

    The power required remains a bit of a mystery. I’m led to believe that 3 volts and less than an amp of current is the norm although current should be proportional to the total surface area of the parts being plated. If you rev up the volts or current you can see that the reaction is strengthening by the amount of hydrogen being released - but the downside is a grainy finish if you overdo it.

    Anyway, I haven’t given up and figure that I’ll work it out eventually. I’ll use what I’ve got for Cooma and take them off and redo them again later if need be.

    Cheers,

    Neil
    1975 S3 88" - Ratel

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by S3ute View Post

    However, that still doesn’t explain how the YouTube advocates get a part fully coated in about 20 minutes.
    Editing.
    ​JayTee

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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by S3ute View Post
    James,

    Hi.

    The end result was that I got it done by increasing the size of the zinc sacrificial plates and keeping it running for ages with a variable regime of voltage and current manipulations. It works better on simple things like bolts and nuts - but much less satisfactorily on objects with multiple sides and angles such as the bracket that holds the ignition and choke end.

    However, that still doesn’t explain how the YouTube advocates get a part fully coated in about 20 minutes.

    The power required remains a bit of a mystery. I’m led to believe that 3 volts and less than an amp of current is the norm although current should be proportional to the total surface area of the parts being plated. If you rev up the volts or current you can see that the reaction is strengthening by the amount of hydrogen being released - but the downside is a grainy finish if you overdo it.

    Anyway, I haven’t given up and figure that I’ll work it out eventually. I’ll use what I’ve got for Cooma and take them off and redo them again later if need be.

    Cheers,

    Neil
    Thanks for the update.

    I guess there might be some "tricks" that they know and aren't sharing, that can happen a bit, turns into a bit of a “look what I can do that you can't", good on you for pushing on though, that's the only way I ever get anywhere, keep going long after good sense tells you to stop!!

    Cheers
    James

  6. #6
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    Slightly off topic, does anyone know how long rusted parts should be left in a vinegar bath till they are totally clean?
    2005 D3 TDV6 Present
    1999 D2 TD5 Gone

  7. #7
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    Not an electroplater but an electroplater's ?

    Hi Neil,
    I've not done any electroplating myself but one of my clients had a large electroplating section, so this advise might be "I know a bloke who's friend ----"

    The place used to make tapware but closed due to the level playing field of the free market agreements Australia now has.
    They had plating equipment for Chrome, zinc and copper. The copper was to plate the brass with before the chrome .

    So a few points,

    Epsom Salts,
    From memory my client used chlorides so they added zinc chloride and used hydrochloric acid to top things up. You need lots of zinc floating around in solution to do your plating so the chloride solution they used was pretty strong. Everybody was PPE'd past the eyeballs in that part of their plant and if you use hydrochloric , I'd advise the same.

    My chemistry is not strong but it's enough for me to be dangerous. Epsom Salts is Magnesium Sulphate, when the zinc is added to the Magnesium Sulphate solution the zinc will dissolve and replace the magnesium.
    Easy enough but the magnesium will come out of solution, so the first bit of your plating will have magnesium on it, until enough of it is gone to allow the zinc to start to deposit, this will give you problems with the first piece.
    So if you renew your solutions each time you will have to get rid of the magnesium. Using Epsom Salts is essentially using the sulphate in the Epsom salts as the electrolyte.

    Vinegar -
    Again, my chemistry is not strong but the acetic acid won't play an active part in the chemistry being much weaker than the sulphate, so perhaps it is used to get the pH correct, in chemistry terms it is called a buffer. I'd play with the concentrations a bit as I doubt that too much will ruin anything.

    Bubbler for stirring the solution.
    I don't know why, but my client went out of their way to keep air out of the tanks, they weren't sealed but the solution was pumped around from the bottom to keep it uniform and to not induce any air.

    Cleaning,
    you have not mentioned how you are cleaning, but you will need to pickle with an acid. I know my client also gave things a wash with caustic beforehand, in their case it would etch the brass and copper (so it was quick ) but it was used to remove any oil from the machining processes. In your case caustic will not touch the steel, unless you leave it several hours.

    Water,
    I assume you are not using it but tap water has sodium in it which will bugger things up with the zinc / sulphate solution. On the same front, sulphate will dissolve copper quite quickly and copper will tie up the sulphate strongly, so I don't know how much it will affect the process but keeping copper out of the mix will not hurt either.

    Cheers Glen

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